In the age of the smart machine How can we benefit from the opportunities of digitization and AI in ways that improve both the provision of services and the experience of those working in them? As a way of reflecting on the current imperative to benefit from the role-out of AI across business and public services, I have been re-reading Shoshana Zuboff’s seminal study ‘In the age of the smart machine’ . This book, published in 1988, traced the implementation of an earlier generation of computer technologies. Whilst AI has many different characteristics, opportunities and potential risks, I think Zuboff’s analysis continues to have relevance and can provide insight into what is happening today. Automate or informate A key distinction Zuboff makes is between technology used to automate work processes or to informate them. If technology is used only to automate work: it can reduce skill levels, and dampen the urge towards more participatory and decentralized...
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